Welcome to my favorite fall soup. It borrows the spices from chorizo but it doesn’t have an ounce of pork in the soup. The temperatures have officially dropped everywhere and it’s COLD. This soup comes in handy on those chilly nights when you want a big bowl of a soup and a few pieces of crusty bread. This would also be a wonderful soup for Thanksgiving.

Some people are on the fence about serving soup on Thanksgiving. I’m a big advocate for it. Of course, it doesn’t have to be fussy. Just give everyone a small bowl of it and let them do their thing—no need to have courses to Thanksgiving. The thought already stresses me out.

For some added cuteness, I cut up some of my baby pumpkins I had lying around and filled them with this soup. It made everyone go “awww.”

Chorizo-Spiced Soup

Without a trace of meat, this chorizo-spiced soup has all the right flavors while still remaining vegetarian.(Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pound acorn squash, halved with seeds scooped out 
• 2 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 shallot, minced 
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree 
• 1 teaspoon ancho chile pepper 
• Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 
• Teeny pinch of ground cloves
• 3 cups water or vegetable broth 
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 teaspoons peptias 
• 3 tablespoons creme fraiche 

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place the the squash, flesh side down onto the baking sheet and transfer to the oven to roast for about 30 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and set aside. 
2. In a medium saucepan or dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook until softened. Add the, garlic, squash, pumping and spices: 1 teaspoon salt, dried oregano, cumin, coriander, pinch of cloves. And then cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the spices are fragrant. Pour in the water. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until the squash is completely softened. Using a immersion blender, pulse until smooth, about 30 seconds. If you don’t own one, no biggie, transfer the soup, in batches to a blender. Allow a bit of air to escape with the lid, and puree until smooth. Adjust the salt, I added about an additional 1 teaspoon and it really brought out the spices. 
3. In a small skillet, add pepetias, oil and spices. Toss until combined and toasted. Drizzle a bit of creme fraiche on top of soup. Top with pepitas. Serve with a side of bread. 

Yield: 4

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.